Hopper car door lock

ABSTRACT

A lock for a railway hopper car having a hinged door. The lock comprises a pivotable eccentric member to which is pivotably and eccentrically mounted at latch which engages a lug to hold the car door either loosely or tightly closed. The lug is mounted on the door and loosely engages the latch, which is on the door frame, when the door is swung out. Cam surfaces on the latch and lug cause engagement of the latch and lug. The eccentric member can be rotated to draw the door tightly closed. Rotation of the eccentric member engages the latch in a tightly locked, overcenter position on the lug, and the latch and eccentric member can be held in the tightly locked position by a pivotable cam lock. Rotation of the eccentric member in the opposite direction disengages the latch from the tightly locked position and further rotation of the eccentric member causes projections on that member and on the latch to abut so as to lift the latch out of engagement with the lug to permit the door to open fully.

United States Patent Hawthorne 1 Dec. 26, 1972 [54] HOPPER CAR DOOR LOCK[72] Inventor: Vaughn '1. Hawthorne, Mechanicsburg, Pa.

[73] Assignee: Keystone Industries, Inc., Chicago,

[22] Filed: Dec. 4, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 95,092

[52] [1.8. CI ..292/ll3, 292/D1G. 49

[51] Int. Cl. ..E05c 5/00, E05c 19/12 [58] Field of Search ..292/1l3,65, 66,111,114, 292/257, DIG. 49

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,514,142 5/1970 Smith..292/1 13 2,378,654 6/1945 Pekny ..292/11l 1,517,995 12/1924 Langenau..292/1 11 1,395,708 11/1921 Grode et a1 ....292I1ll X 3,240,522 3/1966Houvener ..292/111 3,061,347 10/1962 Schlueter ..292/1l1 2,428,57110/1947 Kump ..292/1 13 3,438,666 4/1969 Erickson ..292/2l0 3,540,76711/1970 Siegel ..292/2l0 Primary Examiner-Robert L. WolfeAttorney-Hibben, Noyes & Bicknell [57] ABSTRACT A lock for a railwayhopper car having a hinged door. The lock comprises a pivotableeccentric member to which is pivotably and eccentrically mounted atlatch which engages a lug to hold the car door either loosely or tightlyclosed. The lug is mounted on the door and loosely engages the latch,which is on the door frame, when the door is swung out. Cam surfaces onthe latch and lug cause engagement of the latch and lug. The eccentricmember can be rotated to draw the door tightly closed. Rotation of theeccentric member engages the latch in a tightly locked, over-centerposition on the lug, and the latch and eccentric member can be held inthe tightly locked position by a pivotable cam lock. Rotation of theeccentric member in the opposite direction disengages the latch from thetightly locked position and further rotation of the eccentric membercauses projections on that member and on the latch to abut so as to liftthe latch out of engagement with the lug to permit the door to openfully.

7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures SHEET 2 OF 3 I 72218721571; alfghn/fHall/M07716 HOPPER CAR DOOR LOCK This invention relates to locks forrailway cars and more particularly to locks for hopper car doors.

Heretofore, door locks of various types have been used to retain hoppercar doors, or the like, closed. Such locks are subject to heavy loadsand abuse but must be operated easily, hold the door tightly closed, andbe easily installed. Locks constructed in the prior art frequentlyincluded a hook or latch and a cooperating lug which were secured to thecar and its door. Generally, the latch was swingable either upwardly ordownwardly and engaged the lug to hold the door closed. Upwardlyswingable latches were usually counterbalanced with a heavy weight.Downwardly swingable latches did not need such counterbalance. Somelatches had to be moved manually and aligned with the lug before thedoor could be closed; other latches had to be moved manually away fromthe lug before the door could be completely opened; and still otherlocks had to be manually pried shut before the door could be tightlyclosed. Not only were such manual operations time-consuming but theyalso exposed the laborer to considerable danger, particularly when thelock or the mechanism operating the latch was located at the bottom ofthe hopper. Further, such operations were difficult to perform sinceaccess to the lock was limited by the low ground clearance.

The prior art locks located at the bottom of the hopper not only reducedground clearance but also increased the possibility of damage to themechanism operating the latch due to obstacles in the roadbed over whichthe car traveled. Such locks have used various crank and togglemechanisms having long shafts to actuate the latch. Such mechanisms wereexpensive to build and difficult to install and to maintain.

A lock in accordance with the present invention eliminates thedisadvantages of the prior art constructions and comprises an eccentricmember on the door frame, a pivotal latch mounted cccentrically on theeccentric member, and a lug on the door, the latch engaging the lug forretaining a door of the car closed. The latch is not counterbalanced andswings downwardly to engage the lug. At no time is it necessary tomanually move the latch, since the lock includes means for engaging anddisengaging the latch and lug when the eccentric member is rotated. Thelatch may be disengaged from the lug by rotating the eccentric member inone direction until the latch rises free of the lug. The latch may beloosely engaged with the lug by swinging the door toward its closedposition so that the latch slides over and engages the lug. The lock canbe tightly closed by rotating the eccentric member in the otherdirection to press the latch on the lug. The lock may be mounted at theside of the hopper door so that the lock cannot possibly be damaged bystriking an obstacle in the roadbed and the lock can be easily operatedsince there is increased access to the lock. Further, the lock is sturdyand simply built, has few parts, and may be easily secured to the car.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to providea novel and improved lock for bolding closed a door of a hopper car, orthe like.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a lock of theforegoing character which can be tightly engaged by rotating aneccentric member.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide novel andimproved means for engaging and disengaging a latch and lug of a lock ofthe foregoing character.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following description and accompanying figures of the drawingsin which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of a railway hoppercar including locks embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view taken on the line 22of FIG. I, with the lock shown in a tightly closed position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with the lock shown in a looselyclosed position;

FIG. 4 is another view similar to FIG. 2 with the lock shown in areleased position;

FIG. 5 is still another view similar to FIG. 2 with the lock shown in afully open position;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the lock;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken on the line 77 of FIG. 1with parts broken away and with parts omitted for clarity; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

In FIG. I a railway car 11 having hoppers l3 and doors 15 isillustrated. The doors 15 are pivotally supported by hinges 17 on doorframes 19 which are secured to the hopper walls. The doors 15 may beheld closed by locks 2| having parts thereof, hereinafter described,secured to the frames and the doors. While the locks could be locatedelsewhere on the hopper, it has been found to be advantageous to locatethe locks 21 at the sides of the hoppers because of the increased groundclearance and ease of access to the locks. In this instance, only twolocks 21 are needed to secure the two doors 15 since the locks 21 engagea reinforcing beam 23 which is secured to the two doors 15. Each endportion 25 (FIG. I) of the beam 23 and the door frames 19 havecooperating parts of the locks 21 mounted thereon.

The lock 21, as is better shown in FIG. 6, comprises a mounting plate27, an eccentric member 31, a latch member 33 having a hook 35 on oneend, a lug member 37, and a cam lock 38. The lock 21 is subject to heavyloads and abuse and therefore is preferably formed from a high-strengthmaterial such as cast or forged steel. While either the eccentric member31 and latch member 33 or the lug member 37 could be secured to the door15, in this instance the lug member 37 is secured to the beam 23 on thedoors l5, and the eccentric member 31 and latch member 33 are secured tothe associated frame 19.

The mounting plate 27 provides a convenient base on which the eccentric31, latch 33, and the cam lock 38 can be assembled prior to installationon the car. The mounting plate 27 is generally flat and has threeextended ends to which other parts of the lock, hereinafter described,are secured.

In the plate 27 are openings 39 and 41 in which pivot pins 43 (FIG. 6)and 45 are secured. The pivot pins 43 and 45 are generallymushroom-shaped having enlarged heads 47 and 49 which retain theeccentric 31 and cam lock 38 on the pins. While the pins may beremovably secured to the mounting plate, in this in- Illbtll 2 (I367stance the pins 43 and 45 are welded to the mounting plate 27, as isindicated at 50 (FIG. 8), after the eccentric 31 and cam lock 38 havebeen installed on the pins. Each of the pins 43 and 45 is hollow, havingcenter openings 51 (FIG. 8) and S3 for fasteners 55 and 57 which alsoserves to secure the mounting plate 27 to the body of the car 11.

The eccentric member 31 pivots about the pin 43 which is received in acentral opening 58 in the eccen tric member 31. A boss 59 is located onthe eccentric member 31 eccentrically of the opening 58 (FIG. 6) and isformed on the side of the eccentric member 31 nearest the plate 27. Theend face or surface 63 (FIG. 8) of the boss 59 abuts the plate 27, andthe adjacent face or surface 65 of the eccentric 31 abuts the latch 33.The eccentric 31 loosely abuts the inner side 66 of the head 47 of thepin 43 to retain the eccentric 31 in position. The eccentric 31 has asocket 67 having an enlarged opening 69 therethrough in which a rod 71(indicated in dashed lines in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) or other tool may beinserted to facilitate pivoting the eccentric 31 on the pin 43. Thesocket 67 is inclined with respect to the eccentric 31 to compensate forthe fact that the lock 21 is installed on the inclined hopper side.

The latch 33 is downwardly swingable and does not require acounterbalance to assist in moving or aligning the latch for engagementwith the lug. The latch 33 pivots about the boss 59 of the eccentric 31and has on one end a large opening 73 for receiving the boss 59 and, atthe opposite end, has the hook 35 for engaging the lug 37. The opening73 is rotatably engageable with a circumference 74 (FIG. 8) ofthe boss59. As is shown in FIG. 8, the latch 33 is contained intermediate theeccentric 31 and the mounting plate 27. Surface 75 (FIG. 8) of the latch33 abuts the surface 65 of the eccentric 3], and a surface 77 of thelatch abuts the mounting plate 27.

The lug 37 has one end having openings 79 secured to the beam endportion 25 by fasteners 82, and the other end of the lug 37 extendsbeyond the beam end 25 so as to be engageable by the hook 35 of thelatch 33. The lug 37 is symmetrical about its mid-plane, indicated bythe dashed line 81 (FIG. 6), so that the same latch may be used ateither end 25 of the beam 23 by merely reversing the latch top forbottom.

The hook 35 of the latch 33 can be made to engage or disengage the lug37, to retain the door in, or release the door 15 from, a closedposition. To this end, as shown in FIG. 6, the latch 33 has a surface 83on the inside of the hook 35 which engages a corresponding surface 85 onthe interior of an aperture through the lug 37 to hold the door 15closed. An inclined cam surface 87 on the outer edge of the hook 35 isprovided, and a similarly inclined surface 89 is provided on theinterior of the aperture of the lug 37. Another similarly inclined camsurface 91 on the exterior of the lug 37 engages the cam surface 87 ofthe latch 33 to raise the latch over a solid portion 93 of the lug 37disposed between surfaces 85 and 91 so that the lock 21 may be looselyclosed by merely swinging the door 15 against the car 11. When the lock21 is open, as shown in FIG. 4, the latch 33 rests on pin 88 extendingrigidly from the mounting plate 27 in such manner as to keep the latchin proper alignment to close when the lug on the door is swung intoengagement with the latch.

The lock 21 can be brought from a loosely closed state to a tightlyclosed state by rotating the eccentric 31 by means of the rod 71 orother tool, shown in dashed lines in FIGS. 2 to 4. Rotation of theeccentric 31 rotates the boss 59, which has a center indicated at inFIG. 7, about the pin 43. As this rotation occurs, the latch 35 pivotson the boss 59 relative to the eccentric 31. Rotation of the eccentric31 in the clockwise direction as seen in FIG. 2 causes the hook 35 ofthe latch 33 to tightly engage the lug 37. As is shown in FIG. 2, thelatch 33 has been moved over'center so that the center 90 now lies abovethe line drawn through the point of contact of the latch 33 and the lug37, and the center of the pin 55. Any forces on the door 15 that tend toopen the door, while the lock is in the overcenter position, also tendto retain the latch 33 in the tightly closed or over-center position.Rotation of the eccentric 31 in the counter clockwise direction causesthe hook 35 of the latch 33 to loosely engage the lug 37, as shown inFIG. 3. Further rotation of the eccen tric 31 will cause a projection oran axially extended finger 95 on the eccentric 31, which extends overthe latch 33, to abut a radial projection or extension 97 at the outeredge of the latch 33 and rotate and raise the hook 35 of the latch 33off the lug 37 so that the door 15 may be swung fully open by the weightof the load in the car 11, as is shown in dashed lines in FIG. 4.

In addition to the over-center locking action described above, the camlock 38 has been provided to further insure against accidentaldisengagement of the lock 21. The cam lock 38 has an opening 98 whichloosely receives the pivot pin 45, and an outer cam surface 99 isprovided on the cam lock 38 for wedging the lock closed. The end 101 ofthe cam surface 99 has a relatively small radius and the end 103 has arelatively large radius. The cam surface 99 engages an inclined outersurface 105 of the finger 95 on the eccentric member 31 to hold theeccentric member 31 in an over-center locking position, as heretoforedescribed, and also to hold the hook 35 in a lug-engaging position sincethe finger 95 also abuts the latch 33, as is in dicated at 107 in FIGS.7 and 8. Lugs at the ends 101 and 103 provide surfaces which may bestruck, such as by a mallet, to unlock and lock the cam lock.

In FIG. 2, the lock 21 is shown with the latch 33 over-center andtightly engaging the lug 37 with the cam lock 38 engaged to hold theeccentric member 31 and latch 33 in a closed position.

In FIG. 3, the lock 21 is shown in a loosely engaged position. The camlock 38 has been rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 109 torelease the eccentric 31 and the latch 33. The eccentric 31 has beenrotated, as indicated by the arrow 111, so that the latch 33 is nolonger over-center locked but only loosely en gages the lug 37 and thedoor 15 has moved slightly away from the frame 19.

In FIG. 4, the lock 21 is shown in the release position where theeccentric member 31 has been further rotated so that the finger 95 onthe eccentric abuts the extension 97 on the latch 33 and thus upon stillfurther rotation raises the hook 35 of the latch 33 from the lug 37 sothat the door 15 will swing open, as is indicated in dashed lines.

In FIG. 5 the lock is shown in fully open position with the latch 33resting on the pin 88 to hold the latch 33 in lOolll Z U368 position forengagement should the door having the lug 37 be swung into place againstthe car ll. In such case, the cam surface 91 on the lug would strike thecam surface 87 on the latch 33 raising the hook 35 over the solidportion 93 and allowing the hook 35 to drop into the lug aperture toloosely hold the door [5 closed, as in FIG. 3.

After the door 15 has been swung against the car and the latch 33 hasengaged the lug 37, the lock 21 can be tightly closed by then rotatingthe eccentric member 31 and the cam lock 38 to the positions shown inFIG. 2.

lt is apparent that a novel and useful hopper car lock has been providedhaving an eccentric member, a pivotal latch mounted on the eccentric,and a lug which is engageable by the latch. It is further apparent thatnovel cam surfaces and projections have been provided on the lock toengage and disengage the latch and lug.

What is claimed is:

l. A lock for a door for a railway hopper car, comprising an eccentricmember pivotally mounted on the hopper, a latch member pivotally mountedon said eccentric member, a lug mounted on the door, said eccentricmember being rotatable in one direction to move said latch member to aposition where said latch member engages said lug when the door is swungonto said latch member to hold the door in a loosely closed position,said eccentric member being rotatable in the opposite direction toanother position where said latch member holds the door tightly closed,an axially ex tending finger on one of said members for engaging theother of said members when said latch and eccentric members are inposition to hold the door tightly closed, and a cam lock having an outersurface with varying radii pivotally mounted on the hopper adjacent saidlatch and eccentric members, said cam lock being rotatable into aposition with its outer surface wedged against said finger, whereby saidcam lock holds said finger of said one member against said other memberto hold both said latch and eccentric members in position to hold thedoor tightly closed.

2. A lock as in claim I, wherein said finger on said one member abutsagainst said other member to move said latch member out of engagementwith said lug when said eccentric member is further rotated in said onedirection.

3. A lock as in claim 2, wherein said finger is on said eccentric memberand extends over said latch member.

4. A lock for a door for a railway hopper car, the door being hinged atits top and inclined to swing to a vertical position by its own weight,said lock comprising an eccentric member pivotably mounted on the sideof the hopper, a latch member having a hook projecting downwardly andpivotably mounted on said eccentric member, said latch and eccentricmembers pivoting in generally vertical planes, and a fixed lug mountedon the side of the door, said latch member being movable by rotation ofsaid eccentric member in one direction to a lug engaging position toloosely hold the door closed, said latch member being movable byrotation of said eccentric member in the opposite direction to anovercenter locked position to tightly hold the door closed, saideccentric and latch members having cooperating projecting means to raisesaid latch member out of engagement with said lug upon further rotationof the eccentric member in said one direction, said lock including a pmlocated below said latch for supporting said latch in a position toengage with said lug, said latch member and lug having cooperating camsurfaces to cause said latch member to pivot upwardly over said lug whenthe door is swung into said latch member, said latch member pivotingdownwardly due to its weight to engage said lug to hold the door looselyclosed, whereby the door may be opened, loosely closed, and tightlyclosed by manipulating only the door and said eccentric member.

5. A lock as in claim 4, further comprising a cam lock having an outersurface with varying radii for engaging at least one of said members,said cam lock being pivotally mounted on the hopper adjacent said onemember, said cam lock being movable into a position with its outersurface wedged against said one member.

6. A lock as in claim 5, wherein said eccentric member and said cam lockhave openings therein, said lock further comprising a mounting plate, apair of hollow pins extending through said openings in said eccentricmember and said cam lock for mounting said eccentric member and said camlock on said mounting plate, said eccentric member and said cam lockpivoting on said hollow pins, and fasteners extending through saidhollow pins and said mounting plate to mount the lock on the hopper.

7. A lock for a door for a railway hopper car, com prising a fixed lugadapted to be secured to the door, a single plate having two openingstherein and adapted to be secured to the hopper, a pair of hollow pinssecured to said plate and in alignment with said openings in said plate,an eccentric member pivotably mounted on one of said hollow pins, alatch member pivotably mounted on said eccentric member, a pin adjacentsaid latch member for supporting said latch member in a position toengage with said lug, a cam lock having an outer sur face with varyingradii and being pivotably mounted on the other of said hollow pins, saidlatch member being movable by rotation of said eccentric member in onedirection to a lug engaging position to loosely hold the door closed,said latch member being movable by rotation of said eccentric member inthe opposite direction to an overcenter locked position to tightly holdthe door closed, and said cam lock being pivotable to a position forwcdging its outer surface against said one member to hold said onemember in position, and a pair of fasteners extending through said pairof hollow pins for securing said plate to the hopper,

1. A lock for a door for a railway hopper car, comprising an eccentricmember pivotally mounted on the hopper, a latch member pivotally mountedon said eccentric member, a lug mounted on the door, said eccentricmember being rotatable in one direction to move said latch member to aposition where said latch member engages said lug when the door is swungonto said latch member to hold the door in a loosely closed position,said eccentric member being rotatable in the opposite direction toanother position where said latch member holds the door tightly closed,an axially extending finger on one of said members for engaging theother of said members when said latch and eccentric members are inposition to hold the door tightly closed, and a cam lock having an outersurface with varying radii pivotally mounted on the hopper adjacent saidlatch and eccentric members, said cam lock being rotatable into aposition with its outer surface wedged against said finger, whereby saidcam lock holds said finger of said one member against said other memberto hold both said latch and eccentric members in position to hold thedoor tightly closed.
 2. A lock as in claim 1, wherein said finger onsaid one member abuts against said other member to move said latchmember out of engagement with said lug when said eccentric member isfurther rotated in said one direction.
 3. A lock as in claim 2, whereinsaid finger is on said eccentric member and extends over said latchmember.
 4. A lock for a door for a railway hopper car, the door beinghinged at its top and inclined to swing to a vertical position by itsown weight, said lock comprising an eccentric member pivotably mountedon the side of the hopper, a latch member having a hook projectingdownwardly and pivotably mounted on said eccentric member, said latchand eccentric members pivoting in generally vertical planes, and a fixedlug mounted on the side of the door, said latch member being movable byrotation of said eccentric member in one direction to a lug engagingposition to loosely hold the door closed, said latch member beingmovable by rotation of said eccentric member in the opposite directionto an overcenter locked position to tightly hold the door closed, saideccentric and latch members having cooperating projecting means to raisesaid latch member out of engagement with said lug upon further rotationof the eccentric member in said one direction, said lock including a pinlocated below said latch for supporting said latch in a position toengage with said lug, said latch member and lug having cooperating camsurfaces to cause said latch member to pivot upwardly over said lug whenthe door is swung into said latch member, said latch member pivotingdownwardly due to its weight to engage said lug to hold the door looselyclosed, whereby the door may be opened, loosely closed, and tightlyclosed by manipulating only the door and said eccentric member.
 5. Alock as in claim 4, further comprising a cam lock having an outersurface with varying radii for engaging at least one of said members,said cam lock being pivotally mounted on the hopper adjacent said onemember, said cam lock being movable into a position with its outersurface wedged against said one member.
 6. A lock as in claim 5, whereinsaid eccentric member and said cam lock have openings therein, said lockfurther comprising a mounting plate, a pair of hollow pins extendingthrough said openings in said eccentric member and said cam lock formounting said eccentric member and said cam lock on said mounting plate,said eccentric member and said cam lock pivoting on said hollow pins,and fasteners extending through said hollow pins and said mounting plateto mount the lock on the hopper.
 7. A lock for a door for a railwayhopper car, comprising a fixed lug adapted to be secured to the door, asingle plate having tWo openings therein and adapted to be secured tothe hopper, a pair of hollow pins secured to said plate and in alignmentwith said openings in said plate, an eccentric member pivotably mountedon one of said hollow pins, a latch member pivotably mounted on saideccentric member, a pin adjacent said latch member for supporting saidlatch member in a position to engage with said lug, a cam lock having anouter surface with varying radii and being pivotably mounted on theother of said hollow pins, said latch member being movable by rotationof said eccentric member in one direction to a lug engaging position toloosely hold the door closed, said latch member being movable byrotation of said eccentric member in the opposite direction to anovercenter locked position to tightly hold the door closed, and said camlock being pivotable to a position for wedging its outer surface againstsaid one member to hold said one member in position, and a pair offasteners extending through said pair of hollow pins for securing saidplate to the hopper.